Underground
by Reader4077
Summary: AU version of "Boom!" What if, right after the explosion, Kate decided to let everyone think she was dead and took Castle with her? Will they manage to catch the killer? SLIGHT SLIGHT IMPLIED Caskett.
1. Dead?

"Kate!" Castle kicked down the flaming and blackened door. "Kate!" He yelled again, starting to panic. If he lost her… Richard Castle stopped himself from following that train of thought. He was _not_ going there – Kate Beckett was still alive. She had to be!

"Kate!" Finally he heard it – a slight coughing coming from the bathroom. He ran there to see Kate struggling to sit up in the bathtub. He rushed over.

"Kate! You're alive! … And you're naked…." Castle trailed off, his rescue suddenly turning awkward.

"Castle! Turn around!" Kate ordered. "Give me a towel!" Castle to grab one, but there was only a slight problem.

"Uh… They're on fire."

"What about the robe?" Kate asked.

"That's on fire too. Don't you have anything non-flammable?" Castle quipped trying to lighten up the situation.

"Ugh. Alright, alright. Castle, give me your coat." Castle shrugged off his coat and held it in front of him as he walked forward to give it to Kate.

"Don't look!" Kate warned.

"I'm not!" Castle assured her.

"OK." Kate quickly stood up and wrapped Castle's coat around herself.

"Come on; let's get you out of here and get you looked at." Castle said, putting his arm around her to help her walk. She was obviously hurting.

"No, wait a minute." Kate stopped. "You said the killer was still alive. He did this." Kate gestured to the mess around them. "If he knows that I'm alive, then he'll kill again. But if he thinks I'm dead… That he won…" Kate trailed off, an idea forming in her mind.

"Kate?" Castle asked, concerned.

"He has to think I'm dead. It's the only way to stop all of this. If I die, then his game is over. He has no one to play with." Kate turned to Castle. "I'm going to go underground. Disappear. That way the killer will think I'm dead and stop killing, but I can still hunt him down."

"But what about Ryan and Espesito? Lanie? Captain Montgomery?" Castle asked trying to make her see some sense.

"If they know that I'm actually alive, they only end up tipping the killer off." Kate walked over to her bedroom and retrieved her gun, and managed to find an outfit that hadn't been completely destroyed by the blast. She quickly changed while Castle stood waiting outside in the hall. Something caught her eye, and she bent over to find her mother's wedding ring nestled among the wreckage. She held it up for a moment, then sighing she set it back down again. Finding this would only better confirm the assumption that she was dead. She walked back out into the hall, grim determination on her face.

"You can't tell anyone that I'm alive Castle." Kate said then started toward the back off her apartment where she could slip out the window onto the fire escape and not be seen by the crowd that was already gathering out front. Castle stayed frozen, indecision flashing across his face. Alexis would kill him! Not to mention his mother… but they would also murder him if they ever found out that he had let Kate go off on her one, alone and unprotected. Decision made. Castle ran to catch up to Kate. She hadn't gotten far and she was still clearly hurting. He put his arm around her again, supporting her.

"Castle? What are you doing?" Kate asked.

"I'm coming with you." Castle replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Kate's face registered shock.

"What? No, Caste... I appreciate the offer, but I can't let you do that. It'll be dangerous and who knows how long until I can safely resurface. What about Alexis?" Castle stopped and turned so that he was facing her.

"She'll forgive me. But she _wouldn't _forgive me if she ever found out that I let you go alone when there's someone out there trying to _kill_ you! And nearly succeeded!" Castle gestured to the wreckage around them. "I. Am. Coming. With you." He told her quietly, meeting her gaze evenly. He was not going to let her talk him out of this. "You need someone to watch your back." Finally Kate nodded.

"OK. Castle, what do you have in your pockets?" Kate asked quickly. In the background, sirens were beginning to wail. They had do get out of here now.

"Huh?" Castle asked, looking confused.

"Anything that will identify you. If this is going to work, they're going to have to think you were here when the bomb went off."

"Oh. Uh…." Castle quickly patted down his pockets and came up with his cell phone and wallet. He gave them to Kate who carefully placed them amidst debris that was still on fire.

"Alexis and my mom knew I was on my way over here." Castle said. When I don't show up…" Castle trailed off and Kate nodded.

"Good. Hopefully that and your wallet and cell phone will convince them…" Kate stopped as she heard the unmistakable voices of Ryan and Espesito shouting outside.

"Come on!" Kate hissed as she grabbed Castle and practically threw him on to the fire escape and jumped out herself, seconds before Ryan and Espesito came bursting into her apartment. They stopped at a distance and watched the scene before them unfold. After a while, Ryan and Espesito came out of the building, looking shocked and grieved as Captain Montgomery, Agent Shaw and the rest of the guys form the precinct arrived. Castle slipped his hand into Kate's as they saw Espesito hold up Kate's mother's ring and point to the building behind him. Kate had been right. With that in there, they assumed she had been home. Then Castle saw his mother and Alexis come running up, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from calling out to them. This time, Kate squeezed his hand. He watched sadly as they learned of Kate's 'death' then the horror spreading as people learned that Castle had been on his way over here, and that they hadn't been able to get a hold of him. Espesito, Ryan and several officers went running back inside the building, while his mother held Alexis. After a longer period of time, they came out again. By this time, the media had gathered, and the news rapidly spread that Richard Castle and Detective Kate Beckett, his inspiration for his latest novel, "Heat Wave" had been murdered by an explosion set off in Beckett's apartment.

"Come on." Kate whispered, touching Castle's shoulder. Castle took one last long look over his shoulder at his distraught daughter and mother then he turned to follow Kate and they disappeared into the night.


	2. Explanations

A/N

_Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews! It literally makes my heart glad when I see people enjoying my work! Here's the next chapter, and sorry it's not quite as exciting. Some explanations were in order. __ Please continue to read, enjoy, and review! And sorry it's so short!_

"How did you know?" Kate asked, breaking the silence that seemed to stretch between them. She was concerned about Castle. He hadn't said a word since they had left what used to be her apartment, and that wasn't like him. She had to get him talking.

"Huh?" Castle jolted out of whatever faraway place his mind had been. "Oh. Remember the vic at the carousel?"

"Michelle Lewis?" Kate asked.

"Yeah. Remember the bruising on her ribs? Lanie said it meant that our killer was left handed."

"And Ben Conrad had the gun in his _right_ hand, so it couldn't have been him!" Kate exclaimed, realization dawning on her. How had they missed that? "But that means that Ben Conrad,"

"Was murdered by our killer and set it up so that we would think it was over and lower our guard." Castle finished her sentence.

"It was all a set up. But wait a minute, the man in the window had the gun in his left hand,"

"And Ben had the gun in his right!"

"The killer was in the apartment the whole time! There was no way for him to get out of there without anyone seeing him!" Kate sighed, then kicked the nearest trash can. "Damn it!" There was silence for a few moments before Castle spoke up again.

"So what are we going to do now?" he asked.

"Well first, we find a way to disguise ourselves. Anyone sees us, they think the dead have come back to life and our cover is blown." Castle nodded.

"Then what?"

"We find a place to hole up. See if we can't figure out who this killer is and catch this son of a bitch. We keep an eye on the news to keep tabs on the team, what they're doing and between all of us, we'll get him. But first, we need to find a place to hole up."

"I know just the place." Castle said, his mischievous grin flashing across his face and Beckett shot him an inquisitive and warning glance.


	3. Consequences

A/N

_Warning, this gets a BIT angsty. Ok, a lot angsty. Sorry about that. It will get happier! Promise! _

Beckett looked around the, well, she guess it could _technically_ be called an apartment. She span when she heard the doorknob turning and drew her gun, but it was only Castle.

"Whoa!" He said, raising his hands. "It's just me!" Kate let out her breath and lowered her gun from where she had been pointing it straight at Castle's head. She was still a little jumpy.

"Anyone see you?" Kate asked. Castle shook his head he came in, shut the door behind him and set his purchases down.

"How did you know about this place again?" Kate wanted to know.

"Well, when I was writing 'Storm Warning' I was doing research and I met this guy. He showed me around the neighborhood. He pointed this place out, said it was haunted. No one would go near it. I figured it'd be perfect, and if anyone happens to see or hear anything,"

"They'll chalk it up to the ghosts. I gotta hand it to you Castle… Now, did you get everything?"

"Yup!" Castle turned back to where he had set his purchases down and starting emptying the bag. Inside was hair dye and glasses for Kate, a fake beard and mustache, a baseball cap and sunglasses for himself, along with that day's paper. Kate nodded as she looked over the items Castle had purchased with the money he had taken from his wallet before leaving it behind. She stopped when she reached the paper. The front headline read 'EXPLOSION KILLS DETECTIVE AND WRITER.' She quickly scanned the rest of the article while Castle watched her. She sighed as she set it down.

"It says that we were both killed last night in my apartment by the killer whom the police had mistaken to be Ben Conrad. Captain Montgomery even made a statement that they wouldn't rest until the killer was brought to justice." Tears were threatening to leak out of her eyes. Next thing she knew, she found herself wrapped in Castle's arms. "My dad…" she whispered and trailed off. Castle just nodded. He had read the article before bringing it back to the apartment. Her dad had fallen apart when he had heard the news and promptly gone out and gotten completely drunk. They stayed that for a long time, just holding each other, comforting each other and receiving assurance that this was the right thing to do. Finally Kate stepped back, wiped her eyes and tried to smile.

"Still, one good thing came of this. Your book sales are through the roof!" Castle smiled then looked down.

"Yeah." For once in his life though, how his books were doing was the last thing on his mind.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Castle ran to the door and out into the hallway to retrieve the last item he had purchased while Kate stared at him, curious. What….? Then she couldn't help but smile. Castle was dragging into the apartment a whiteboard. Albeit, it was a lot smaller than her murder board, but it would do, and she appreciated the gesture.

"Thanks Castle." She told him with a smile.


	4. The Funeral

_A/N_

_Bewared, you may want to get some tissues, because here be an angst fest! Special thanks to my pastor! If not for him, this funeral would have started 'Dearly beloved…' o.O_

X X X X

The mood was somber. No one could really believe that Kate Beckett and Richard Castle were really dead, let alone that they were at their funeral. The service had yet to start and the room was silent, save for the sound of people sobbing. Alexis, Martha, Gina, Meredith, and Beckett's father, Jim Beckett, were all sitting up front. Behind them was Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, Captain Montgomery and the rest of the guys from the precinct. They had all tried to keep the funeral private, but because of Castle's famousness, and the fact that Kate had been his inspiration for Nikki Heat, it had turned into a media circus. Most of the reporters they had managed to keep outside, but for a few representatives that were silently filming the proceedings. Up front, Alexis turned and buried her face into Martha's shoulder. She couldn't imagine life with out her dad. Martha turned and enveloped her in a huge hug.

"Oh, sweetheart." She whispered. "I know." Their lives would be empty without Richard in them. Up on the platform, the pastor approached to pulpit.

"We have gathered here to thank God for the lives of Richard Castle and Katherine Beckett., to find comfort in time of need, and to place ourselves in the presence of God whose love knows no end, in time or eternity." He continued to speak for several moments about the hope of life after death and during that time, Kate's father broke down. He sat there silently sobbing, tears running down his cheeks, his shoulders shaking. This was too much. First he had lost his wife, now his only child. It wasn't fair! No parent should have to outlive their child! Ryan leaned forward and place a hand on Jim's shoulder, silently trying to comfort and at the same time, sharing his grief. The whole team was mourning the loss of Kate. It wasn't going to be the same without her around. Even Castle was missed, always following Kate around. He had made all of their jobs a bit more fun. The whole service seemed to go by in a blur. Alexis got up to talk about her dad, as did Jim. Neither of them could make it trough though and broke down in tears. Finally it was over, and everyone walked out to the graveside. Since there were no bodies, it was a closed casket filled with pictures and memories from family and friends. They were being buried beside one another. It had just seemed right that way. Castle's tombstone read

"Richard Alexander Castle. 1971 – 2010. Loving son, father, and friend." Beside him, Kate's read,

"Katherine Beckett. 1978 – 2010. Loving Daughter. She made a difference." As they stood around the graves, it began to rain, farther darkening the mood. Alexis was huddled against Martha, freely crying, her tears mixing with the rain, as they ran down her cheeks.

"Seeing that the early lives of Richard and Katherine have come to an end, we commit them to be buried. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." The pastor said as the two caskets were lowered into the ground. Then, one by one, they all stepped forward to throw some dirt in the graves and say their goodbyes. It was raining steadily now and everyone was soaked. Finally, it was over, and everyone began drifting back towards their cars. Captain Montgomery placed is hand on Jim, Alexis and Martha as he left, followed by Ryan and Esposito.

"I'm so sorry." He said. "This shouldn't have happened…." He trailed off unsure of what else to say. They just nodded, too numb to say anything. Finally, it was just the three of them left. Jim looked too out of it to be able to move. Martha looked at Alexis who nodded through her tears. She had viewed Kate as a surrogate mother at times, and that made Jim family. Martha went back and touched him on the shoulder. He looked up blindly, not really seeing her.

"Come on. Come home with us. No one should be alone right now." Jim just nodded, and Martha led him back to their car, followed by Alexis.

_A/N_

_Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! Just a note, I have no idea whether Castle or Beckett are religious or not. I tired to keep it in character but I don't know. Let me know what you think! And I don't own Castle. :( Oh, and extra credit to those who spot the LOTR reference! :) (I don't own that either!)_


	5. Revelations

_A/N_

_Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to update! I had some serious writer's block! The thing is, THIS IS CHAPTER 4! IF YOU READ MY PREVIOUS CHAPTER 4 GO BACK TO THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER AND READ MY NOTE! I TOOK THAT CHAPTER DOWN BECAUSE I DIDN'T LIKE IT! Again, READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER BEFORE READING THIS! It will save you a lot of confusion. :) Please review, and let me know what you think! _

"Ok…" Kate sighed, running a hand through her now red hair a week later. "We're getting nowhere. Let's go over it one more time. What do we know?" Castle stood up and cleared a space on the white board in their crummy apartment for their list.

"Well, we know he's NOT Ben Conrad." He said. "And he's left handed."

"He's at least read Nikki Heat, possibly more of your works." Beckett added. Castle nodded and added it to his list. There was silence for a moment as they both thought.

"He's a chameleon." Beckett finally said. "Good at changing his appearance."

"Jordon said that he was most likely an arsonist and possibly burned his fingerprints off." Castle added, scribbling furiously on the whiteboard.

"And…" Becket said, a new thought obviously occurring to her. "If we treated Ben Conrad like the first victim, "

"Then Ben and our killer's path had to have had crossed at some point!" Castle finished.

"So he had something in common with Conrad…." Beckett concluded. "What I wouldn't give to get a look at some of the evidence photos from Conrad's apartment!" She exclaimed. Castle's stomach rumbled loudly breaking her train of thought, but Kate couldn't help but smile at him. She was hungry too. They didn't have much money left and things were getting pretty bad. They either had to solve this case soon or they were going to have to find some other means of income. Castle grinned back at her.

"So if we found how his life intercepted with Ben's, we find our killer." Castle said and Beckett nodded. The only problem now was finding the connection.

_A/N_

_Sorry it's so short, but the next chapter will be up in an hour or so, and that will be followed pretty shortly by chapter 6. Please review! _


	6. Breaking and Entering

Castle held his out his hand and helped Kate in through the window of Ben Conrad's apartment.

"Ok," She whispered, once she was inside "Just look for anything that might be out of the ordinary. And keep quiet!" Castle held up his hands in silent protest and Beckett nodded. "Ok." They each pulled out a pair of latex gloves that they had purchased with the last of their money and pulled them on. They walked around the apartment, but nothing stood out to them. That is until Beckett opened the door to the bedroom.

"Castle!" She whispered. "Come look at this!" Castle came and peered over her shoulder into the room.

"He was a Knicks's fan." Castle whispered, eyeing the various banners, pictures and posters. "So?"

"Come on." Beckett led Castle into the living room. "Notice anything missing?"

"Besides good taste?" He asked, eyeing the décor distastefully.

"A _TV_. Which means to watch the Knicks's games, he would have had to walk to a local bar. And it's a very good possibility, that that's"

"Where Ben and our killer met! So if we find out where Ben went, we might find a lead to our killer!" Castle whispered. Beckett nodded. They had their connection. Silently they climbed back out of the window, down the side of the building and set off in search of the local bars.

_A/N_

_Sorry it's short again! Next chapter will be up really soon, so don't kill me! Please let me know what you think and leave me a review! (Oh, and in case you didn't know, I don't own Castle. Sadly.)_


	7. Realizations

It was one week after the explosion, and the team was frustrated. They seemed to be getting nowhere nearer to finding their killer. Ryan and Esposito were staring at the murder board while Agent Shaw and her team were in the next room working with the smart board. The tension in the precinct could have been cut with a butter knife. Everyone had loved Beckett and Castle and wanted this cop killer brought to justice. Suddenly Esposito had a thought.

"Hey Ryan."

"Yeah?"

"Didn't Conrad's sister say that he was a Knicks fan?"

"Yeah." Esposito stood up and point at the pictures taken at Conrad's apartment.

"What's missing here?"

"Good lighting?"

"A _TV_. If Conrad was a Knicks fan, he would have had to go to a local bar to watch the games."

"Yeah, if you're a Knicks fan, you gotta share the pain with somebody."

"That's where our killer must have met him." Esposito said. Ryan and Esposito had also decided to treat Connor as their first victim of this case. They looked at each other, then grabbed their things and headed for the door. Time for a road trip.

_A/N_

_I know it's short! But you got three chapters within an hour! So don't complain! I really do like where this is going better than my first attempt, but what do you think? Please review! PLEASE! Again, Castle is sadly not mine. Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon! Now, take the two minutes it will take you, and leave me a review! :) (And sorry if this sounds kind of similar to the previous chapter. It's hard to do a revelation from two different POVs and not have it sound similar.)_


	8. The Bar

_A/N_

_Again guys, I want to make this clear because some you have been asking me questions. MY ORIGINAL CHAPTER 4, WHERE A YEAR HAD PASSED, I TOOK DOWN BECAUSE I DIDN'T LIKE IT! Pretend it never existed! Ok? Clear? Good. A lot of you said you wanted to see this happen, so here ya go. And I don't own Castle!_

"This is definitely it." Castle said as they entered their fifth bar. Hanging above the bar was a sign that read 'HOME OF NEW YORK'S OWN SERIAL KILLER, BEN CONRAD' Kate rolled her eyes then went up to the bar to ask the barmaid a few questions.

"Excuse me, miss?" Beckett asked, leaning forward to get her attention.

"Yeah? What can I get ya?"

"I'd like to ask you a few questions about Ben Conrad." Beckett said pointing to the sign. The bar maid looked at them questioningly.

"You the cops?"

"No…" Beckett hesitated, unsure of what to say.

"We're friends of Ben." Castle supplied.

"Oh, well I'm sorry then. What can I do for you?" Beckett was just about to question her when a very familiar voice came from farther down the bar.

"Excuse me miss? NYPD. We'd like to ask you a few questions." Esposito's voice rang out above the rest of the noise in the bar. The bar maid looked at them sympathetically then said,

"Sorry. I'll be right back." Beckett nodded and she went down to talk to Ryan and Esposito.

"First of all, we're going to need you to take that sign down."Ryan said pointing to the banner above them.

"I was just trying to work an angle."

"Well, you're going to have to take it down. It's nothing to be proud of to be the home of a serial killer who murdered one of our best detectives!" Esposito exclaimed. Castle glanced over at Kate who was faintly blushing from the praise.

"Ok, I'll take it down."

"Good. Now we'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Shoot."

"What was the last time you saw Ben Conrad?"

"Ummm… Probably about a week ago. Night of the big Knicks game."

"Did you ever notice him talking to any one unusual?"

"Nah, he was pretty much a loner. He mostly drank alone and watched the games." Ryan and Esposito nodded. They had suspected as much from Ben's relationship with Mr. Bumpkins.

"Although…" The barmaid seemed to be recalling something.

"What?"

"A couple of weeks ago he did strike it up with some guy."

"Can you tell us what he looked like?"

"Average looking. A bit off, like Conrad."

"Can you tell us anything else about this guy?"

"Well, the only time he ever said two words to me was when he asked me to call him a cab."

"Do you remember when?"

"I remember exactly when. The Knicks were in overtime and I missed the end while I was on hold."

"Ok, thanks a lot." Ryan said, closing his notebook. They definitely had a lead on their killer now.

"Hey, you know those people over there might be able to help you." She said pointing at Castle and Beckett who shrunk further down in their seats and hid their faces. "They said they were friends of Ben's."

"Really? Ok, thanks." Esposito nodded at Ryan and they approached the pair who were trying to hide their faces.

"Excuse me? NYPD. We'd like to ask you a couple of questions." Esposito said. Castle and Beckett glanced at each other. Now what?

_A/N_

_At least it's longer this time! Please don't shoot me… Anyway, I'm working on the next chapter and want input. Should Beckett and Castle reveal themselves to Ryan and Esposito or do they manage to hide their identity? And I'm toying with the idea of making chapter 4 Kate and Castle's funeral. What do you think? PLEASE REVIEW! I won't put the next chapter up until you do! :) _


	9. Confrontation

A/N

Sorry it took me so long! I was gone all weekend! Enjoy and review!

"_Excuse me? NYPD. We'd like to as you a couple of questions." Esposito said/ Castle and Beckett glanced at each other. What now?_

X X X

For a split second, Beckett considered revealing herself to Ryan and Esposito. But then it was gone, and she realized that if she did, the killer will inevitably be tipped off that she was still alive. She couldn't tell them. Not yet.

"Don't say a word. Don't turn around." She hissed to Castle. Drawing herself up, she let her red hair fall around her face, partially obscuring it. Then she took a deep breath.

"What can I do for you, boys?" She asked in a Russian accent. She remembered that Ben Conrad had been on a trip to Russia about five years ago for a vacation. She could pretend they had met him there. It clearly threw Esposito and Ryan for a loop as well, which was what she had been hoping for.

"What are you doing in this neighborhood?" Esposito finally asked.

"We are on a second honeymoon. We heard the news about Ben, and we wanted to learn what had happened. We were very good friends several years ago in Russia." Kate winched inwardly as the lie came out. Castle was NEVER going to let her live this one down! Beside her, she felt Castle shaking with silent laughter. She discreetly elbowed him in the ribs.

"Is there anything that you can tell us? When's the last time you saw Ben?" Ryan asked

"I'm afraid not. The last time we saw Ben was five years ago in Russia. We have not seen him since." Beckett sighed.

"Well, thank you very much for your time." Ryan said. He could tell that these two had nothing useful to offer. Beckett just nodded. She wasn't going to push her luck. From the way Esposito kept glancing at her, he knew something was up. He just hadn't pieced it together.

"Come on." Ryan said to Esposito, who after a final glance in their direction nodded and headed for the door, to try and track down the cab lead the barmaid had given them. When they were gone, Kate pushed the hair off of her face and breathed a huge sigh of relief. That had gone over better than she had expected. When she looked over, Castle was staring at her.

"What?" She asked, her voice dropping the Russian accent.

"Nothing! Just … Wow!" Beckett smiled at him.

"Come on, Castle." She said, pushing away from the bar and heading towards the door. Castle just stared at her for a moment, then shook himself and followed her out of the bar.

_A/N_

_Sorry it's so short! Next chapter will probably be up in the next hour, so don't worry! PLEASE review!_


	10. The Phone Call

"Have we got an address?" Federal agent, Jordon Shaw, asked as Ryan and Esposito came into the room.

"Yeah. West Village, corner of Varick and Downing." Ryan said.

"Ok, let's get the team and head over there." Jordon said. She wanted this killer caught. Now. Then Esposito's phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and answered it.

"Esposito."

"How's it feel to be on the losing team Esposito?" A deep gravelly voice came over the phone. Esposito's face immediately hardened. Ryan paused when he saw the look on his partner's face. Whatever it was, it wasn't good.

"Turn yourself in." Esposito bit out, and now he had everyone's attention. Ryan started a trace.

"Now why would I do that? I won."

"Then what do you want?" Esposito was keeping a _very_ tight hold on himself so that he wouldn't blow up at this guy. Ryan placed a hand on his should and Esposito forced his attention back on the conversation.

"That's the question isn't it? I guess you'll find out soon enough." Esposito heard several shots and then a scream. Then the line went dead. He stood there, staring at the phone in his hand, threatening to crush it with his intensity. He drew in a deep breath to rein in his anger.

"Did you get it?" He asked Ryan quickly.

"Yeah."

"Esposito, you and Ryan head to that location. The team and I will head to the cab drop off." Esposito nodded. They had to catch this guy. _Now._

_A/N_

_I know it's short! Sorry, but the next chapter will be up really soon. It's written, I just have to type it! Please leave me a review!_


	11. Encounters

"So Castle, you hungry?" Kate asked on their way back to their apartment as they passed a small sandwich shop.

"Huh? We don't have any money, remember?" Castle was confused.

"You sure about that?" Kate asked with a smile. She held up a wallet.

"Oh, you didn't. You _stole_ Esposito's wallet?" Castle asked, shocked and amused.

"Borrowed. I borrowed Esposito's wallet. Besides, you'll pay him back later." Kate patted a very stunned looking Castle. "Come on." Castle watched as she walked…no _strutted_ to the door. Castle blinked after her several times, shocked into place. Kate reached the door, then turned back to him

"You coming?" Castle shook himself then hurried to enter the shop behind Kate. This was definitely a new side to Kate Beckett.

X X X X

Castle and Beckett exited the sandwich shop, finishing off the last of their sandwiches. They threw tier trash away and headed back to their apartment. They were halfway there when they heard the shots followed by screams. With just a second's glance at each other they took off running in the direction of the sound. They peered around the corner of an alley to see a dead woman lying on the ground and a man, presumably her killer hurriedly spraying something on the brick wall beside her in white spray paint.

"N…I…K…K…I…" Beckett heard Castle mutter beside her, watching as the man wrote, the gasp.

"Nikki! This has to be our killer!" He hissed and she nodded. She pulled out her gun and quietly cocked it. They watched as their man continued writing. When he finished it read "NIKKI HEAT BURNED. WHO'S NEXT?" Castle felt Kate tense beside him and he could practically feel the anger coming off of her. They watched as their killer glanced around himself and they quickly ducked back around the corner. When they looked again, he was walking quickly down the alley away from the crime scene. With just one glance at Castle, Beckett handed Castle a gun and whispered,

"Here."

"What, you want me to hold it while you tie your shoe or something?"

"No. Castle, you're my only backup. Just try not to shoot yourself, OK? Now come on. He's getting away." Beckett brought up her own gun and quickly ran after their killer. Castle glanced at the gun in his hand, then ran after Kate.

_A/N_

_Thanks again to Jayce. Beckett taking Esposito's wallet was their idea. Also, I have the story finished. How fast it gets uploaded depends on you and whether or not you click that little button down there that says 'Leave a review'…_


	12. Capture

They had been following their killer for a good hour when suddenly he disappeared. Kate paused at the corner of an alley and peered around. Castle came gasping up behind her.

"Where'd he go?" He asked, looking around.

"I don't know."

"We lost him?"

"No. He's here somewhere. He just caught wind of us." Castle glanced around them again.

"Well, if I had to hide somewhere here in a hurry, I'd go in there." He said, pointing to the abandoned warehouse directly across from them, Beckett looked over the other buildings around them and had to agree with Castle. The abandoned warehouse was the only place the killer could have gone.

"Come on. But be careful." Beckett said and Castle nodded. Together they quickly ran across the street and entered the warehouse. Beckett took the lead, her gun raised while Castle followed her, constantly looking over his shoulder. Suddenly Beckett stopped and Castle almost ran into her. Beckett shot him a look, raised a finger to her lips, then pointed around the stack of boxes. There looking the other direction behind a different stack of boxes was their killer. With a loaded gun.

"Stay here. Stay hidden. Don't let him know you're here." Beckett whispered. Castle nodded. "Ok." Taking a deep breath, Beckett raised her gun and stepped out from behind the boxes.

"Your game's over. Give it up." She commanded. The killers spun around and immediately pointed his gun at her. From where he hid, Castle sent up silent prayers for Kate's safety. He couldn't lose her now.

"Well, well. Nikki Heat. Still alive. Well, we can fix that soon enough."

"The name's Beckett. And I'm going to give you one more chance. Put down your gun and put your hands in the air."

"Nikki, Nikki. Now why would I do that?"

"I'm warning you." Beckett said one more time. Suddenly, the killer raised his gun and fired a shot, hitting the light bulb, extinguishing the light. Beckett cursed when she heard him moving away. She was not going to let him get away! Beckett moved to follow him, and Castle quickly followed after her, staying in the shadows. As Beckett rounded a corner, the killer surprised her, and slammed her against the wall. She swayed for a moment, then recovered and went after the killer. In the shadows, Castle held his breath. Beckett and the killer fought for control, then the killer managed to knock Beckett to the ground.

"Now Nikki," He said, leveling his gun at Beckett, "Now, the game's over."

"NO!" Castle yelled from where he was hiding and fired his gun, managing to knock the killer's gun out of his hand. The killer looked shock, as he watched his gun clatter to the ground, then brought his eyes up to meet the barrel of Castle's gun leveled straight at him. He froze then slowly raised his hands in the air. Behind him, Beckett pulled herself up and handcuffed him.

"You're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. So shut the hell up." She said as she clinched the handcuffs shut. "Nice shot." She said as she turned back towards Castle.

"I was aiming for his head." Castle confessed. "But where did you get handcuffs?" Kate just smiled.

_A/N_

_Yay! They caught him! Happy reunion chapter up next! The speed with which you see it entirely depends on the amount of reviews I get so… And again, I sadly do not own Castle. Bummer._


	13. Return

_A/N_

_I rewrote Chapter 4, and it is now up! Go read it before you read this chapter! You might want to grab some tissues on the way though… :)_

Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, Jordon Shaw, and Captain Montgomery sat in the precinct, discouraged. Not only had the latest crime scene given them nothing besides another dead body, the cab location had also been a dead end. They were getting nowhere with this case.

"Ok," Captain Montgomery said, standing up to address the depressed group.

"We have to be missing something. What is it?" There was silence in the room. Everyone was tired and fresh out of ideas. They had all been working full out for the past week, trying to find his killer, and it had gotten them nowhere.

"Ok, you know what? We're all tired. I'm ordering a 24 hour rest for all of us. You too Agent Shaw." He added when Jordon raised her hand to protest.

"I may not have the legal authority, but I know when someone's pushed themselves too hard, ant at the moment, we all fall into that category." The silence that followed was affirmation enough.

"Ok, so everybody go home. Get some rest. We'll…" Captain Montgomery was interrupted by sudden cheering and applause. They all looked up, and looked at one another, confusion written on their faces.

"What the…?" Captain muttered and moved towards the door to investigate. Behind him, everyone stood up and followed. He strode to the door, closely followed by the rest. They all stopped, frozen into place by the scene before them. There in front of the elevator was a red-headed and flustered Kate Beckett, and a scruffy Castle, along with a third guy in handcuffs. The room quieted down as they precinct noticed the group standing there. Beckett glanced up and smiled at the team. Castle was outright beaming. Beckett handed off their prisoner to another detective as Montgomery, Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, and Jordon came over to them.

"Kate Beckett, reporting for duty." She said softly as Montgomery came to stand in front of her. He smiled.

"Welcome back." Was all he said. With a smile, he stuck out his hand which Kate shook. When he stepped back, Lanie immediately moved in and wrapped Kate in a huge hug. They had been friends now for years, and Lanie had been devastated when she heard the news. It broke the tension in the room and everyone laughed and smiled. Castle bumped fists with Ryan and Esposito.

"Hey man. Good to see ya!" Ryan said.

"Yeah." Esposito echoed.

"Don't you ever do that to me again girl!" Lanie warned when she let go of Kate.

"I'm not planning on it." Kate assured her.

"So I'm assuming that's our man?" Jordon Shaw finally asked. Kate looked over, seeming to notice her for the first time.

"Yeah. Castle and I came across him at this latest murder scene and followed him to an abandoned warehouse. That's where we caught him.

"But how did you survive the explosion? And I gotta say, I'm loving the red hair and caveman look." Esposito teased. Kate's hand unconsciously went up to her hair, while Castle playfully slugged Esposito in the arm.

"I dove into the bathtub just as it blew, and Castle wasn't in my apartment at the time. He came busting in right after." Castle blushed and looked down.

"Well, I speak for all of us," Captain Montgomery said, "When I say how glad I am to see you. Both of you."

"Thank you sir." Beckett said.

"Now you two have had one hell of a week. Why don't you go home and get some rest. We can finish this in the morning." Kate nodded, then hesitated, just remembering that her home was currently blown to smithereens. Castle noticed this and had a solution.

"You can come stay at my place." He offered.

"Castle…" Kate started, but was cut off.

"Actually, Beckett, your father is over there. He's been there since the … funeral."He didn't want to be alone." Ryan said. Kate looked at him and nodded.

"Thanks." She said quietly.

"Come on." Castle said, moving towards the door. Kate followed after him, then stopped and turned.

"Oh, and Esposito?"

"Yeah?"

"Catch." Kate tossed him something, then followed Castle into the elevator, and the doors closed. Esposito looked down at what he held in his hands, then looked back up sharply at the elevator which was now descending and smiled.

"What is it?" Ryan asked. Esposito held it up.

"My wallet! Beckett _stole_ my wallet!"

_A/N_

_YAY! Happy reunion! :) Family reunions up next, so stay tuned and review! Or else! (This writer does not own Castle)_


	14. Family Reunion

Castle paused at the door of his house. He pulled out his key and turned it over in his hands, staring at it. From inside, voices could be heard.

"What is it?" Kate asked him.

"Nothing! … Just, they had a funeral!"

"Yeah." Kate said softly. She felt bad too for what they had put their family and friends through. But it had had to be done.

"I almost feel like I should knock or ring the bell." Castle half-laughed. Kate smiled. Drawing in a deep breath, Castle asked her "You ready?" She nodded, and Castle smiled at her then inserted his key into the lock and opened the door. Inside, Castle and Kate saw her father, Alexis and Martha sitting in the living room. They didn't notice them at first then Alexis looked up and saw them standing in the doorway. She just stared at them for a second, and Castle smiled at her.

"**DAD!**" She finally screamed, launching herself off the couch, across the room and into his arms.

"Oh ho." Castle exclaimed as he caught his daughter and enveloped his daughter in his arms. "Hey there kiddo." He said with a smile as he squeezed Alexis tighter. "I missed you." By this time Martha and Beckett's father were off the couch and running to greet them. Martha simply embraced both Castle and Alexis in a huge hug.

"Oh, Richard. You're alive." She said, unable to believe that her son was actually her and alive. Beside them, Beckett's father approached her.

"Katie?" He asked, not quite believing that she was real.

"Hey Dad." Kate whispered.

"Oh, Katie." Her father said, drawing her into a hug. "I'd thought I'd lost you too."

"I'm sorry Dad." Kate whispered, tears leaking out of her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. Her father wiped them away, then held her even tighter. They all stayed like that for a long time, just holding each other. Finally they all let go and stepped back, wiping their eyes.

"So." Martha finally said with a shaky laugh. "You going to stand out here all night, or are you going to come in and tell us the story?" They all laughed at that, and Castle shut the door behind him, before rejoining his family.

_A/N_

_Everybody say it together now…. "AWWWWWWW…." We have one more chapter to go, so hang in there, this stories almost done! I don't own Castle! :(_


	15. Conclusions

"His name is Scott Dunn." Jordon said the next day when Castle and Beckett came in to the precinct. They had to move aside as two agents walked by, carrying the smart board.

"You leaving?" Kate asked.

"Yup. Case is closed." Jordon stuck out her hand, and Kate shook it. "It's been nice working with you, Detective. Good luck in the future."

"Same to you." Kate replied. With a final nod, Agent Jordon Shaw followed the rest of her team out of the precinct. Kate walked to her desk, followed by Castle. He sat in his normal chair beside her desk, while she surveyed the room around them. Her hair was finally back to its normal color after several washings, and Castle was back to his normal clean-shaven self. She sat down, watching the hustle and bustle around her. She was aware of Castle watching her as she sat down, so when she turned to him she said,

"Hey Castle?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks." Castle smiled at her, that smile that made her heart melt a little each time she saw it.

"Anytime." He said. Kate smiled back at him, then turned her attention back to the huge stack of paperwork on her desk. Things were back to normal.

THE END!

_A/N_

_Thanks to all of you, my devoted readers! You inspire me so much! I appreciate you sticking it out with me, and showing patience! Please leave me a review and tell me what you thought. PLEASE! Again, I hoped you liked it! :)_


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